Friday, March 8, 2013

Where's My Teddy? by Jez Alborough~Early Literacy

The book description for Where's My Teddy? from Jez Alborough's website is too adorable not to quote!

Eddy's off to find his teddy. Eddy's teddy's name is Freddy. He lost him in the woods somewhere. It's dark and horrible in there...

Where's My Teddy is a delightful book about a bear and a little boy who lose their teddy bears and find the wrong bear in the woods. Both are greatly distressed until they find each other and switch bears. It is an easy lead-in to fear and loss for little kids that leads to a positive resolution.I love, love, love this book!

I searched all of my favorite blogs and Pinterest, but could not find a phonemic awareness activity so I made my own focusing on the -ed family involving Teddy Graham crackers. It turned out great!

Directions: Give students one game board with two pictures each of the words: fed, head, shed, sled, bed and fed. I cheated a little on the word, "head." That said, it fit the rhyme pattern if not the rime.The best spinners are made with a paper clip. Simply place a pencil near one end of the paper clip and flick the paper clip. It spins better than most game board spinners. I used glue dots to adhere the spinner to a paper plate for better wear.Students spin the board, read the word the paper clip lands on and place one Teddy Graham on the word that matches. Continue playing until all spaces have been covered one at a time. When every game board is filled, kids get to eat their Teddy Grahams.I love this activity because it focuses on rhymes, reinforces a pattern through auditory bombardment and is interactive. It is versatile in that it can be completed whole group like Bingo or with small differentiated groups of learners.This is as close to a worksheet that you will ever see me complete with young kids.Click for master: